Prince Honoré-Gabriel was born in Paris on May 14, 1778, the eldest son of Prince Honoré IV of Monaco and Princess Louise Felicite Victoire d’Aumont, Duchesse de Mazarin et de La Meilleraye.
He enlisted in a French cavalry regiment when he was 20 years old and worked his way up through the ranks by his own merits until he became an officer on the staff of Marshal Grouchy. He was an exemplary soldier and was cited for his bravery many times. He was wounded in the arm at the great Napoleonic victory in the battle of Hohenlinden which prevented him from seeing action at Austerlitz.
He did serve with great distinction at the battles of Jena with Marshal Murat’s cavalry corps. Marshal Grouchy recommended him for the star of the Legion of Honor, relating that the Prince had taken a handful of cavalry and forced the surrender of an entire enemy battalion.
When Napoleon was sent into exile the restored King Louis XVIII of France restored the Grimaldis to their places in the French nobility. Grandson of Honoré III and son of Honoré IV, Honoré V (1778-1841) was therefore too named, after the restoration of 1814, member of the House of Peers by king Louis XVIII. But many were afraid that Monegasque independence would not be or that they would be annexed by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. Thanks to the Prince Talleyrand, however, a clause was inserted into the Treaty of Paris to put Monaco back in order. When Napoleon attempted to restore his empire during the 100 days Monaco was occupied by British troops and so the Grimaldis played no part in the affair.
Honoré IV was unable to return to Monaco because of his poor health and so appointed his brother Joseph to rule on his behalf. But Honoré-Gabriel didn’t like that idea and he protested fiercely this and after some struggle he was himself appointed to govern Monaco.
On his way to Monaco he met with his old commander Napoleon as he was on his way to Paris to seize power at the start of the 100 days. Napoleon asked where he was going and Honoré-Gabriel said he was going home to Monaco. Napoleon said he was going home to the Tuileries, but as things unfolded he was not to remain there long.
In 1819, when his father passed away, Honoré-Gabriel became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco as Honoré V and inherited a Principality beset with problems. At once a member of the French Parliament and a Sovereign, he picked up on the project of his grandfather to diversify economic resources and encouraged the installation of factories. The Great Powers of Europe had taken Monaco out of the French sphere of influence and made the Principality a protectorate of Piedmont-Sardinia. The government in Turin closed the tobacco plant that Honoré III had established and enforced a number of other changes that left Monaco impoverished.
Honoré V went to Turin to try to reason with the King but, although he was treated with great honor and respect, none of his grievances were addressed. Honoré V also had to raise taxes considerably which made him increasingly unpopular. His granting of a monopoly on flour caused a bread shortage but no one had the nerve to voice opposition to him. He also pushed opportunities for tourism. However, the lack of a market for local products, the omnipresence of the State and the lack of presence of the Sovereign created tensions, especially in Menton. The sovereign ended up pacifying Menton before going forward with his effort to provide the Principality with amenities. By his own admission he “desired to do good” but “did not manage to”, despite his philanthropic ideals.
When liberal movements began to oppose the counter revolutionary tide of post-Napoleonic Europe some in Monaco thought of joining in but Sardinian troops arrived to crush the potential rebellion in its infancy.
History has tended to record Prince Honoré V as a very unpopular and autocratic monarch, but, in reality he was quite progressive. He wished to help his people sincerely and had great sympathy for the poor. His reaction to seeing beggars on the streets was to form state-owned industries and put them to work. Some of the industries he set up included a lace factory and a hat factory. He also had them put to work on farm cooperatives as citrus orchards had long been a large part of the Monegasque economy. All of this has led some people to regard Prince Honoré V as a sort of socialist, though he probably would not have seen it that way.
Prince Honore V died, unpopular and unappreciated on October 2, 1841 in Paris. As he was not married and had no children the Monegasque throne passed to his poet-actor brother who became Prince Florestan I of Monaco.
